CalPERS $100,000 Pension Club has more than doubled since 2012, new data show

Last year, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) issued 30,969 pension checks that were worth $100,000 or more on an annualized basis, according to newly released pension payout data from TransparentCalifornia.com.

The new, 2018 data reveals that CalPERS is now paying out over $23 billion annually in pension benefits, 17 percent of which will go towards those receiving annualized pensions of $100,000 or more.

The growing number of $100K-plus pensions reflect an increase in newer retirees who benefited from the pension enhancements passed in 1999 and 2001. As documented by reporter Ed Mendel of Calpensions.com, CalPERS advocated for these enhancements by falsely claiming that they would not cost “a dime of additional taxpayer money.”

In reality, these enhancements are part of the reason why governments across the state such as Fullerton’s are now struggling under the weight of soaring pension costs.

We have updated the link on our homepage to the 2018 list of Fullerton’s 732 pension recipients and will be doing a follow-up post about it. To view the updated list now, please click here.

The average pension of state and local retirees who worked at least 30 years before retirement are shown in the chart below:

To explore the complete 2018 CalPERS dataset in a searchable and downloadable format, please click here.

CalSTRS

The California State Teachers’ Retirement System has also seen an explosion in the number of those drawing pensions of at least $100,000 in recent years, as shown in the chart below:

The average pension for full-career CalSTRS retirees hit an all-time high of $73,920 last year — an increase of over $10,000 from 2011.

To explore the complete 2018 CalSTRS dataset in a searchable and downloadable format, please click here.

Transparent California will be continually updating its website with new, 2018 data from California’s other pension funds in the coming weeks. Be sure to follow their Facebook and Twitter accounts, sign up for their mailing list, or subscribe to their blog in order to receive the latest updates.

We have updated the link on our homepage to the 2018 list of Fullerton’s 732 pension recipients and will be doing a follow-up post about it. To view the updated list, please click here.

1 Response to CalPERS $100,000 Pension Club has more than doubled since 2012, new data show

Many people if not most look at the generous pensions given to public employees especially police and fire and are envious of them.

My reaction is somewhat different. If in fact we the taxpayers and the municipalities which grant these pension could actually afford to give them out, I would not complain.

But the facts are that our cities and counties are being crushed by the extraordinary large burdens of these public pension liabilities. And it will get worse, much worse before it ever gets any better.

If police, fire and all the other other public unions really cared about the citizens they represent and who pay their salaries and benefits, they would stand up and acknowledge the problem. They would not only be willing but demanding that their benefits be reduced and/or their own contributions increased for the good of the communities they work in and reside in.

But unfortunately the silence is deafening. For almost to every public employee man or woman, they remain silent continuing to reap great rewards to the detriment to all their private sector friends and neighbors.

So the next time some public union hack says that their main concern is about we the people, tell them to stop the bull crap and tell them to stop giving the lion’s share of their union dues not to help the public but to city and county politicians who will ensure the gravy train continues to run unabated!

Also demand that every person running for local public office refuse any public employee contributions as it is definitely a major conflict of interest!